A clarification for our eagle-eyed readers: Though I used the word “bankrupt” to describe Harborside, a private school that closed, then merged with the public Washington Elementary School downtown, the Harborside School never filed for bankruptcy.

I used the term generally to describe financial failure. However, the term also also refers specifically to the legal state of bankruptcy, in which a person or group declares it can’t pay its debts. That doesn’t apply to Harborside School.

Harborside closed in August due to a lack of funding, but did not file for bankruptcy, said Michael Galasso, a board member of the former Harborside School. The school was able to pay its debts, but couldn’t raise enough money to keep the school open for an additional year, Galasso said.

Tuition alone did not cover the school’s cost: To keep the school running, board members had to raise nearly $250,000 each year in donations, Galasso said. Last year, it couldn’t do so.

Thanks to the readers who raised the question, and my apologies for adding to the confusion.

EMILY ALPERT

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